I want to dabble in some additional programming and thought I might write a little stock market deal that will display certain information about my portfolio on my KDE desktop. I realize I could probably find one but that defeats the purpose.

Anyhow, I guess I want to know where to start. I know PHP and a bit of Java but neither seems right for this littly hobby project.

The project I have in mind will let me run setup with some initial information and then automatically update my portfolio information from the interweb tubes every 15 minutes or so. The information should display directly on my desktop like that nifty system monitor thing that uses Superkaramba.

What language would be best for this project? Must I learn C or can I use something else like Ruby or Python? Will I have to fiddle with the KDE API?

Thanks for any resources you can give me.

J.

KDE uses a lot of C++, but python and ruby are also becoming popular. If you want more info on how to get started in KDE development, go to the KDE website and take a look at the development section.

a good start would be to get kdevelop and start a new project.. there should be a template for just about anything in kde you want to make. i have worked with kicker applets a little.. i have only used c++ for them, but id bet there are ways to use ruby and python like reddazz mentioned..

in addition to using a template from kdevelop you can look at the source for kde, and check out the applets that come with kde.. they are in the kdebase package under kicker/applets/ ..

good luck